Minivans Fall Short Of Safety Mark

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is out with its top safety picks for 2006 models and, as The Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen

For the first time, the institute gave out top safety pick awards.

"We're often asked which is most important, a front impact, a side impact or rear impact," the group's Adrian Lund said. "And the fact is, you never know what kind of crash you're gonna be in. So what you want, and what we tell people, is to choose a vehicle that does well in all three."

The institute looked at crash test results involving 2006 models of small, midsize and large cars, as well as minivans to come up with its initial top safety picks.

Ten cars were winners, Koeppen says, with two safety levels: gold and silver.

Gold means the vehicle got the institute's top rating of good in all three crash tests: front, side and rear. Silver means the car rated good in front and side crash tests, but acceptable in rear crashes.

In the large car category, the gold went to the Ford Five Hundred and its twin model, the Mercury Montego, both with the optional side airbags. The silver went to the Audi A6.

There were seven top picks in the midsize car category.

Getting the gold was the Saab 9-3 and the Subaru Legacy. The silver went to the Audi A3 and the Audi A4, the Chevy Malibu with optional side airbags, and the Volkswagen Jetta and Passat.

In the small car category, a gold was given to the Honda Civic four-door.

But no family minivan was chosen as a top safety pick.

"They don't provide seats with head restraints that provide the kind of protection we're looking for in rear crashes," Lund says.

Is that cause for concern for minivan owners?

"The institute said, just because minivans did not make the top safety pick award, didn't get one of the awards, doesn't mean they're unsafe," Koeppen says. "Some of them do very well and get the highest ranking of good in the front crash, in the side crash. But they just did not meet the requirement of the rear crash to fit into a top pick."

Common threads in all the top picks included relatively new designs and side airbags designed to protect people's heads.

Those side airbags are evolving into a big safety helper, Koeppen notes, adding, "If you can get that in your car, get it."

SUVs and pickup trucks weren't included in this round of awards because side-impact crash tests haven't been done by the institute on those vehicles yet.